A justifiably high priority is given to protection of combustible materials such as wood, processed wood products, which may include plywood, oriented strain board, chipboard, masonite, and paper, cardboard, textiles and fabrics, and so forth and the like.
Various fire retardant compositions and systems to effect such protection are known. For example, No-Burn, Inc., Wadsworth, Ohio, makes available a number of fire retardant formulations that include an ammonium phosphate such as NO-BURN® Original™, NO-BURN® Wood Gard™, NO-BURN® PLUS™, NO-BURN® Fabric Fire Gard™ products, which may or may not also include a mold inhibitor, an insecticide, or perhaps a stain repellant. Compare, U.S. Pat. No. 6,982,049 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,989,113 B1, U.S. Pat. No. 7,482,395 B2 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,587,875 B2; and patent application Pub. Nos. US 2005/0022466 A1, US 2006/0189232 A1, US 2007/0170404 A1, US 2007/0176156 A1, US 2007/0185238 A1 and US 2008/0054230 A1. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,811,731 B2, which discloses a method of incorporating phosphate/borate fire retardant compositions into wood based composite products, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,725,382 for fire retardant compositions, both assigned to Chemical Specialties, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.
On the other hand, various processes are known for incorporating preservatives or insecticides into wood. Among these is the TRU-CORE® process for protecting wood products of Kop-Coat, Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., which can deliver preservation ingredients to the center core of lumber products without the expensive traditional use of pressure treatments. Compare, patent application publication No. WO 2006/127016 A1. See also, patent application Pub. Nos. US 2006/0269677 A1, US 2009/0088481 A1 and US 2009/0143334 A1. Other treatments exist, for example, for lumber, which is, of course, flammable. Many of these do not primarily concern fire retardant capability although some fire retardant capability may be provided with penetrating barrier, borate-based formulations, for one example, a Class B ASTM E-84-05 rating. Among these is DRIWRAP® coating material for wood and wood-based composites. It is a spray-applied thin coating, which combines water and mold resistance, is breathable and resistant to water damage, contains a preservative that creates a barrier that is resistant to mold, and has its protective properties coming from materials that are used in food packaging and cosmetics. Compare, U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,284 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,416,789 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,732 B1. Note, patent application publication No. WO 2006/127016 A1; and Pub. Nos. US 2006/0269677 A1, US 2009/0088481 A1 and US 2009/0143334 A1. See also, Ross, A., “New Penetrating Barrier Treatment for Wood and Wood Composites,” Proceedings of the American Wood-Preservers' Association, Austin, Tx., Apr. 9-11, 2006; Kop-Coat Wood Protection Products, Kiln-Dried Lumber (www.kop-coat.com/kilndried.asp), 2009.
Other products may provide water resistance. For example, although not a fire retardant, Thompson's Water Seal product is a solvent-borne, stearate-based water proofer for a variety of surfaces including wood, but not plywood, and other porous surfaces.
Various conventional paints and paint formulation bases may have long lasting color retention, chalk resistance, stain resistance, etc. Among these, for example, are touted various formulations that are or are made to include a polyvinylidene fluoride resin such as a KYNAR® resin as in a KYNAR 301F, 500, 710, 741F or 9301 or KYNAR AQUATEC product. Compare, U.S. Pat. No. 6,635,714 B1 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,966 B2. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,833,414 B2.
It would be desirable to improve the fire retardant art. It would be desirable to provide alternative(s) to the art. Trade literature notwithstanding, formulation and compatibility may not always be straightforward.